McLaughlin hails ‘very important’ start

Winner Scott McLaughlin says he was pleased to simply “get through” the Superloop Adelaide 500 with two strong results, to begin his quest for a third straight title.

McLaughlin rose from seventh to second in the Saturday race before capitalising on Shane van Gisbergen’s misfortune to win the second leg.

That ensured the Ford driver left Adelaide with the championship lead, 27 points ahead of Jamie Whincup.

Van Gisbergen is already 159 points behind in 13th, after a refuelling issue was followed by a suspension failure, putting him out of the Sunday race.

McLaughlin had said heading into the weekend he was simply aiming for two top-five finishes, such is the importance of starting solidly.

“It’s so important to have two good results [in Adelaide] because you don’t want to be on the back foot,” said McLaughlin.

“It’s cruel for Shane [van Gisbergen] because I think one bad result for him, he’s a fair bit off, but he’ll come back.

“But I’d rather be ahead than worrying about having to claw back, it’s very important [to start well]. I’m glad to get through it.”

McLaughlin won both races in Adelaide last year; kicking off a season where he was never headed in the standings.

In 2018, van Gisbergen swept Adelaide while McLaughlin suffered a puncture on Sunday and finished 10th, starting a year-long fight.

McLaughlin’s Adelaide kicked off a season which many are expecting to be his last in Supercars for some time, with a full-time move to IndyCar mooted.

While he’s so far only confirmed for a single IndyCar race at the Indianapolis road course in May, the scenario adds further intrigue to his campaign.

Asked after Sunday’s race whether he expects it was his last Adelaide 500, McLaughlin said: “I don’t think so, at this point in time.

“Obviously [I want to] one day come back to Adelaide for the Superloop Adelaide 500 and for me right now, I have got a race [in IndyCar] in May.

“Obviously everyone is thinking ‘oh god, he might be going across or whatever’ but I’m certainly just racing every race like a normal one.”

With teammate Fabian Coulthard banking a solid if unspectacular points haul across the season-opener, Shell V-Power Racing sit atop the 2020 teams’ championship standings.